A Secretary's Reconcilation
by Owen96
Summary: Isabelle, the happy-go-lucky shih tzu who's widely down for her optimistic attitude is sick of her 'beloved' Mayor. He always gets the love of the villagers, leaving her in the dust, and she can't handle any more of it. And she's finally going to tell the ignorant fool exactly what she thinks of him...


Isabelle, the yellow-furred, exhausted shih tzu, lay her heavy head down on the wooden desk of the town hall, hearing a thump as her head made contact. She realised she may have 'rested' it too hard, as pain cracked through the side of her head making her wince. She tiredly stared at the door of the town hall. She wondered what it would be like if...she was just a regular citizen. A regular citizen, who could simply run around, enjoying their day in the sun...collecting bugs, fruit, going to the beach...

But she couldn't. Not many of the villagers knew what was going on behind the closed doors of the town hall. While they were out enjoying themselves, Isabelle was working constantly to make sure that happened. Constantly filling out paperwork, completing needed duties for celebrations...and finishing the work that the supposed 'mayor' was meant to be doing.

Isabelle's eyebrows creased in frustration as she thought about the beloved mayor to the villagers. She loved him too, once, but after weeks, months, years of running after the things he left behind in an attempt to keep the village civilised and getting zero credit for it, she had gotten completely sick of his lack of actions to help the town. She sat up, leaning back in her chair and folding her arms.

But, even though the mayor did little to nothing, the villagers respected him a lot more, and Isabelle, not liking confrontation, had decided to let it slide all these years. She put on an act for the villagers, for the visitors of the town, for the mayor himself, just to preserve the harmony of her beloved town. That's what it all boiled down to, she realised. She adored the town.

But the mayor, ever since he joined...he didn't care about the town. He would run all over the grass, killing it, simply because he was impatient to flog his items at Re-Tail at a ridiculously high price, manipulating the villagers into buying his things...Isabelle remembered, one time, a few months ago, she was talking to Reese, selling her old cuckoo clock for a reasonably low price, and one of the villagers was thinking about buying it. The mayor, however, completely changed their mind, calling the clock broken, sketchy, dirty...the thought brought a tear to the dog's eyes. Then the villager bought the mayor's stupid water trough. And once again...Isabelle let it go.

As she thought more and more about the many situations where she could have stood up to the mayor, told him her thoughts, she felt more and more frustrated. The clock at the back of the town hall ticked annoyingly in her ears. She felt confined. She could hardly breathe. She stood up quickly and roughly, knocking her chair backwards. It slammed into the ground with a bang and Isabelle screamed, reaching forward, grabbing a cup that had five different coloured pens inside and throwing it across the room.

The plastic cup landed on the ground and the pens scattered, as if they were trying to escape. Isabelle took deep breaths, her eyes wide, surprised at her anger. After she calmed down, Isabelle picked up her chair, slid it neatly into its usual spot, then circled around her desk to pick up the five pens and put them back in the cup. At the exact same moment that she placed the cup back on her desk, she heard the bell attached to the door ring as it was opened. Isabelle's body froze. It was the mayor.

"Hey, Isabelle. Geez, it's been crazy today. The Bug-Off got super competitive, and an argument almost broke down between Friga and Annalisa, but luckily I managed to stop it. I won gold though!" The mayor announced proudly, holding up his trophy for Isabelle to see. She remained with her back facing him, however.

"Well done, Mayor." Isabelle muttered through gritted teeth. She could feel her hands clenching her desk, a shadow passing over her eyes. The mayor frowned, feeling slightly uncomfortable. He put his trophy down on the ground and took off his coat, hanging it on the coat rack in the corner of the hall.

"Isabelle, are you okay? You seem a bit stressed. Maybe you should have a sit-" The Mayor began, speaking quietly, before he was interrupted by Isabelle who spun around, glaring at him ferociously, the cup of pens in her clenched fist. The Mayor's eyes widened in surprise and slight intimidation. He took a step backwards.

"Why do you think THAT is, Mayor?" Isabelle practically spat, unable to control her anger. Outside the window, the moon drifted calmly across the sky. A yellow bird flew away from the window of the town hall where it was perched, disrupted by the noise. "All day, every day, I sit here, alone, doing nothing but work, while you have fun all the time!"

"Isabelle, please...calm do-"

"No! No, just shut up! Just be quiet!" Isabelle roared, pausing for a moment to catch her breath. She had never been like this in her entire life. Her arm was itching. Itching to sling the cup at the mayor's face. She hated him. She despised him. She looked at him, staring into his terrified eyes. "I NEVER get the credit. You always do, and you do nothing around here! The villagers adore you! They love you! You're their precious little Mayor...while they completely forget that I exist!"

"Isabelle, you know that's not true!" The Mayor retorted. "The villagers only ever say nice things about you-"

"Well I never hear it even if they do, because I'm always cooped up in this stuffy room! Just for once, just once I'd like to go to the beach, walk on the sand, listen to the waves, collect seashells...but I can't! The closest I've ever been is looking out the window, and...and it's all your fault! If you just helped...if you just helped, maybe I'd be able to leave once in a while! I hate you! I hate you, Mayor! I haven't been able to stand you for months! Just...just go away!"

Isabelle collapsed onto her desk, her head buried in-between her arms, and she began weeping. She choked for breath, coughing violently. Her fingers slowly relaxed and the cup dropped out of her hand, once again hitting the floor. Four of the pens tumbled out, while the last one managed to stay in the cup as it collided with the floor. The Mayor didn't know what to say, if anything. He was completely shocked. Completely, utterly bewildered that somebody who he thought to be his friend had merely been building up her feelings over the years.

"...I'm sorry, Isabelle." he spoke, his voice shaking. Isabelle wanted to retort, but was currently too deprived of breath. She resolved for a groan, but it came out pathetic and needy. "I'm so, so sorry that I made you feel this way. I guess...I guess I was just too focused on enjoying myself and making the most of the advantages of this town...and wasn't thinking nearly enough of the other side. From now on, I promise you that I will come here every day and help you with your paperwork. Actually, no, I'll do ALL your paperwork. And, while I'm doing it, you can go to the beach, if you like...and collect seashells. Relax for a while. I truly am sorry."

Isabelle had caught her breath back, but she remained speechless. What should she say? She slowly pushed her body up and turned to face the Mayor, her eyes glimmering with tears, both sad and angry. The Mayor was smiling sadly, holding out his hand for her to take. She didn't move. What if...what if he wouldn't change? What if he was just lying to her? She looked up at him.

"You promise?" she muttered quietly. The Mayor chuckled slightly, nodding his head immediately afterwards, showing that he hadn't even thought about it.

"I promise. Come on, Isabelle, let's go to the beach." The Mayor said. The last five words hit Isabelle straight in her heart. Suddenly, she could feel happiness sliding into her heart, and she took a step forward, then another, until she found herself in The Mayor's arms, holding him tightly.

"Okay, Mayor." she replied, looking up at him with a smile. All her anger had gone. The Mayor smiled back and opened the door. Isabelle closed her eyes, allowing the moonlight to shine down on her face. She took a deep breath of fresh air, unable to contain her excitement. As she stepped outside and turned around to close the door, she noticed the cup of pens was still lying on the floor. "Oh, wait, I need to clean that up."

"There's no need, Isabelle. We can do it later. Together." The Mayor answered, and Isabelle processed his words as she closed the door and started walking along the stone path towards the beach. Both of them, working together. Both of them. Working with each other.

Together.


End file.
